


touch

by tsukizzie



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Armin Arlert Has Nightmares, Armin Arlert Needs a Hug, Armin Arlert is Not Okay, Ends with a twist, Eremin - Freeform, Eren Yeager Needs a Hug, How Do I Tag, I didn’t check for errors so I hope my grammar and spelling aren’t too bad, I have a head canon that he cries when he’s mad, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Why are there so many ereri suggestions, am i tagging right, armin is traumatized, armin was molested, eren didn’t know, eren is such a sweet heart, he also cries when he sees his friends in pain, im pissed that eren didn’t comfort him in canon so here we are, is it angst or fluff idk, it’s kinda just eren and armin comforting each other, sorta but not really, this is my first fic help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29369070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukizzie/pseuds/tsukizzie
Summary: To simply put it, Armin is afraid of being touched.He doesn’t mind grabbing someone’s hand to be pulled out of a ditch, or a friendly pat on the back, but he’s terrified of the hands that wander. The ones that touch him where he doesn’t want to be touched. The ones that feel for places he doesn’t want felt. Like that man that touched him a few months ago, when he was disguised as Historia. That’s what started this irrational fear. So far no one has seemed to notice his unusual behavior.Besides Eren.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Comments: 10
Kudos: 141
Collections: Hurt and Comfort





	touch

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh this is my first fic!!! Season four has been making me upset, so I decided to write this to make me feel better. Please let me know if you like it, because I plan on making more!

To simply put it, Armin is afraid of being touched. 

He doesn’t mind grabbing someone’s hand to be pulled out of a ditch, or a friendly pat on the back, but he’s terrified of the hands that wander. The ones that touch him where he doesn’t want to be touched. The ones that feel for places he doesn’t want felt. Like that man that touched him a few months ago, when he was disguised as Historia. That’s what started this irrational fear. He thought it was stupid. Damn it, Armin, are you really that scared? It’s not even a big deal, he’d tell himself. The hours he spent awake were much greater than the ones he spent asleep, as he mentally fought himself about it. Even his odm gear bothered him sometimes. He was constantly on edge, but no one really seemed to notice it.

Besides Eren. Eren loved touch. He liked the feel of skin on skin, because it meant he wasn’t alone. So, naturally, he was upset as he watched as his best friend shy away from simple embraces. They didn’t hug anymore and rarely ever held hands. He wanted to ask him what was wrong, but it also looked like Armin needed some space. So he waited awhile before doing anything. However, Eren was impatient and was dying to know what he’d done to make his friend so distant. One night, he pulled Armin to the side after dinner.

Armin felt a hand pull at his sleeve and whipped around. Emerald green eyes met his, and his expression softened. It was just Eren.

“Hey... can we talk?” Eren asked slowly. Armin quirked an eyebrow at this. Is something wrong? He wondered to himself.

“Yeah. What’s up?” Eren didn’t answer immediately, but lead him to his temporary room. Armin sat on the edge of his bed while Eren paced the floor.

“Did I do something wrong? Like, to you? Because I feel like I did.” He admitted. Armin saw his hurt expression and bit his lip. He was trying to hold back the wave of tears that desperately wanted to spill. 

“No!” He replied quickly. Eren’s shoulders relaxed and he came to sit down by Armin.

“If it’s not me, then is there something else bothering you? You seem so jumpy all the time.” Eren said. Armin focused on his breathing in silence, afraid to speak because his voice might break.

“It’s nothing.” He finally said. Eren grabbed his hand again, causing Armin’s body to become stiff.

“I can tell when you’re lying.” Eren said softly. “I want to be able to help you, so please just tell me what’s wrong.” 

He looked up at Eren with tears rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t do this anymore.” He sobbed. Eren’s eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around Armin in a gentle hug. Salty tears blurred Eren’s vision for a moment. The way Armin’s tiny figure racked with sobs broke his heart. 

“I’m so sorry.” Eren whispered into Armin’s ear. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this alone. I should’ve paid more attention.” He held him with warm arms, comforting him to the best of his ability. When Armin’s loud crying turned into quiet sniffles, Eren looked down at him. Armin was staring at the wall with puffy red eyes. His body shook with occasional hiccups as he leaned against Eren’s chest. He glanced over at him, and when their eyes met, he could see tears starting to form again. Armin wiped his eyes before sitting up and facing Eren.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered weakly. Eren gave him a confused look.

“For what?”

“I- I don’t know. I’m sorry for not coming to you sooner. I should probably explain-“ 

Eren shushed him. “You can tell me when you’re ready, and if anything, I’m the one who should be sorry. I pushed you too much.” He clutched Armin’s hands tight in his own.

“No, I want to tell you. It’s hard, but I need to get it off my chest.” He said, drawing in a deep and shaky breath. “I’m... I’m afraid of being touched. This is fine though.” He reassured Eren quickly before he could try to take his hands away. “It’s because of that man that kidnapped Jean and me. He thought I was historia and he... touched me.” Armin didn’t want to get into the sickening details. He pulled an arm over his chest, the same place the man’s hands had explored. Tears filled his eyes again and he felt Eren shift. Eren was crying too now, horrified by what he had heard. He looked angry too.

“Who did it.” Eren’s voice was shaking. His empty hand was clenched into a fist. “I swear I’ll find him, and I’ll kill him.”

“I think he’s already dead.. I know mikasa beat him to pulp when she rescued us but.. I don’t know. It’s all a blur.” Armin’s tone was weak and soft. Eren’s anger vanished, and he rubbed Armin’s hand with his thumb.

“Can I hold you?” He asked. Armin gave him a watery smile and nodded.

“Yeah... that’d be nice.” 

Soon, they were a tangle of limbs, and their breathing had slowed. Armin’s head was in the crook of Eren’s neck, letting him brush a hand through his long, blonde hair. It was nice being touched like this. The gentleness of it all made Armin want to melt. He felt the hand in his hair stop, and looked up to face Eren. He smiled softly down at Armin, and leaned in to place a delicate kiss on his forehead. Armin snuggled deeper into Eren, and fully relaxed for the first time since those dirty hands had touched his body. He felt safe here, and wanted to stay in Eren’s warm embrace forever.

—

A little over a year had passed since that horrible day. Armin woke up from another one of his nightmares, but he wasn’t scared anymore. He rolled over into Eren’s arms, and stroked his hair softly. Eren stirred in his sleep, mumbling something about cleaning the table. Armin chuckled softly, and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. He would never get tired of being wrapped up in Eren’s strong arms, and was glad to know that Eren needed him too. They were each other’s support and comfort through hard times, and had been since childhood. They were each other’s constant, something that would never change. 

Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading it!! Ily all <3


End file.
